Question of the Day: Who will chair the FCA?
March 10, 2015 |06:05 AM
The confirmation late Monday of Dallas Tonsager and Jeffery Hall to become members of the Farm Credit Administration board has raised the question of who will chair the board.
The chair of the FCA board is appointed by the president.
The board regulates and examines banks, associations, and other entities within the Farm Credit System including the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Kenneth Spearman
Sources close to the situation said President Barack Obama’s most likely pick for chairman is Kenneth Spearman, the only incumbent member of the three-person board once Tonsager and Hall are sworn in. The president usually appoints a member of his own party as chairman.
The current chair of the board is Jill Long Thompson, a former Democratic representative from Indiana who was appointed by Obama to the board in March 2010 and designated chair and CEO on November 27, 2012. Long Thompson's term has expired. She has continued to serve, but will depart when Tonsager is sworn in.
Long Thompson succeeded Leland Strom, a Republican from Illinois who was appointed by President George W. Bush on December 12, 2006, and served as chairman and CEO from May 22, 2008, until Long Thompson was designated as chair.
Strom’s statutory term has expired, but he will depart when Hall, a Kentuckian with strong ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is sworn in.
Obama appointed Spearman on October 13, 2009, to fill the balance of Tonsager’s term when Tonsager became Agriculture undersecretary for rural development. Spearman was reappointed to a full six-year term that expires on May 21, 2016.
Spearman also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corp., which is responsible for ensuring the timely payment of principal and interest on obligations issued on behalf of Farm Credit System banks.
According to his official FCA biography, Spearman, a Floridian, spent 28 years in the citrus industry. From 1980 to 1991, he was controller of Citrus Central, a $100 million cooperative in Orlando, Fla., where he was responsible for financial management and reporting and the supervision of staff accountants.
He later served as director of internal audit for Florida’s Natural Growers.
From January 2006 until his appointment to the FCA board, Spearman served as an independently appointed outside director on the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank board in Columbia, S.C. During his tenure, he served on the board compensation committee and the board governance committee.
Before entering agriculture in central Florida, Spearman served with the U.S. Army and is a Vietnam veteran. He later was employed by the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. and was involved with the development of a public accounting firm in Chicago.
He served as chairman of the board of trustees for Lake Wales Medical Center. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, as well as the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives, for which he served a term as national president.
He obtained his master’s degree in business administration from Governors State University in University Park, Ill., and his bachelor of science in accounting from Indiana University. He also attended Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, where he completed a program with a concentration in government agency strategic planning.
The chair of the FCA board is appointed by the president.
The board regulates and examines banks, associations, and other entities within the Farm Credit System including the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Sources close to the situation said President Barack Obama’s most likely pick for chairman is Kenneth Spearman, the only incumbent member of the three-person board once Tonsager and Hall are sworn in. The president usually appoints a member of his own party as chairman.
The current chair of the board is Jill Long Thompson, a former Democratic representative from Indiana who was appointed by Obama to the board in March 2010 and designated chair and CEO on November 27, 2012. Long Thompson's term has expired. She has continued to serve, but will depart when Tonsager is sworn in.
Long Thompson succeeded Leland Strom, a Republican from Illinois who was appointed by President George W. Bush on December 12, 2006, and served as chairman and CEO from May 22, 2008, until Long Thompson was designated as chair.
Strom’s statutory term has expired, but he will depart when Hall, a Kentuckian with strong ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is sworn in.
Obama appointed Spearman on October 13, 2009, to fill the balance of Tonsager’s term when Tonsager became Agriculture undersecretary for rural development. Spearman was reappointed to a full six-year term that expires on May 21, 2016.
Spearman also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corp., which is responsible for ensuring the timely payment of principal and interest on obligations issued on behalf of Farm Credit System banks.
According to his official FCA biography, Spearman, a Floridian, spent 28 years in the citrus industry. From 1980 to 1991, he was controller of Citrus Central, a $100 million cooperative in Orlando, Fla., where he was responsible for financial management and reporting and the supervision of staff accountants.
He later served as director of internal audit for Florida’s Natural Growers.
From January 2006 until his appointment to the FCA board, Spearman served as an independently appointed outside director on the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank board in Columbia, S.C. During his tenure, he served on the board compensation committee and the board governance committee.
Before entering agriculture in central Florida, Spearman served with the U.S. Army and is a Vietnam veteran. He later was employed by the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. and was involved with the development of a public accounting firm in Chicago.
He served as chairman of the board of trustees for Lake Wales Medical Center. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, as well as the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives, for which he served a term as national president.
He obtained his master’s degree in business administration from Governors State University in University Park, Ill., and his bachelor of science in accounting from Indiana University. He also attended Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, where he completed a program with a concentration in government agency strategic planning.
